Monday, December 27, 2010

Have been looking at this watch for about 2 years, ever since I stared Kayaking, and I love watches, Ms Santa must have been listening because low and behold, it's now on my wrist. Woohooo.

Watch is one cool gadget, solar so never have to replace batteries, atomic time synchronization so never have to adjust the time, waterproof to 100m, compass with declination adjustments, altimeter, barometer, temperature, stop watch, timer, 5 alarms, world clock with 29 timezones stores historical data. for all three sensors. Niiiiceeee.

Another gift from Sana, aka "Julie", one of those things that I have had on my want list for quite some time but probably would never have bought it, a portable Hammock. How cool is that. This thing is wicked, weights 2lbs and packs up small, made of breathable parachute material and rolls up small. Can't wait to try this out and can think of nothing better than relaxing in a comfy hammock after a long day of paddling.

The tent pegs that come with my tent are fairly brittle, my original set on the 2 man are all bent and out of shape, these are anodized gold aluminum from Mountain Hardware with guy line drill holes, heavy duty and look cool, it's like pimping out my tent, woohooo. Got 10 new shiny tent pegs..

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Sounds funny I know, but hey I had almost everything (including kitchen sink) might as well have a shower, no idea how effective this is but the idea is that you fill it with 10l of water, sun warms up the water and you get an 8 minute hot shower, it really is the little things, was the cold shower under a garden hose that did me in last year. Haven't tried it yet and will do a review once I have. Packs up very small and comes in a little carry case.

Had the Marmot - Limelight 2 for the last two trips, tent is amazing but was a little too cozy for 2 people, picked up the Limelight 3 for this year, provides more room plus 2 vestibules instead of 1. I went with the same tent because why change what works, the Marmot is simple to put up/take down and stood up to every type of weather condition, why go with someting that hasn't been proven.

Not sure if renting again this year so will expand the list to include Kayak and additional equipment when I decide. Will aslo be adding some new gear this year which isn't included in this list, will update as I purchase.

I have done full reviews of most of my equipment on previous trip sites, feel free to email me directly if you want to know specifics about any of the items.

Our 2011 Kayak trip will be on the Rideau Canal to Ottawa. Expected duration is 16-20 days. Actual trip plan is still in the works and may change as we continue to plan the trip. Travel Logistics dictate that we drive to Kingston, find a place to leave the vehicle, Travel up the Rideau to Ottawa then back to Kingston, a distance of ~400 km, if there is any time left over and depending on how we feel, will spend a few days in the 1000 islands around Kingston.

Julie will be joining again this year which is amazing, had such a great time last year, while I did have fun doing my first trip solo it is so much more enjoyable sharing the experience with someone else, can't ask for a better paddle partner and Julie is excited for her second trip.

I haven't forgotten about my Georgian Bay trip just know Julie doesn't have the same passion for it as I do so will circle back on that trip another time.